Cushion shank for shoes



July 19, 1938'. w. H. NICKERSON 2,123,954

CUSHION SHANK FOR SHOES Filed Aug. :5, 1955 Patented July 19, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT FFlCE CUSHION SHANK FOR SHOES William H. Nickerson, Newton Center, Mass.

Application August 3, 1935, Serial'No. 34,542

2 Claims. (01. 36-76) The present invention relates to shank cushions extent as needed to make the cushion firmer or adapted to be incorporated in shoes for supportmore yielding to meet different requirements. ing the arch of the wearers foot and otherwise The cushion shown in Figure 1 is formed to coenhancing the comfort of the shoe. It comprises Opera e With a m ta sha k stiffener f the deessentially a cushion which may be embodied in a sign Shown in Figure Such Shank Stlffenef'being variety of forms and combined with a shoe shank pr fer y made of stiff sheet steel pres or stiffener in various ways, and further comprises o d W t longitudinally hed fo mat OIl the combination of such cushion and stiffener with conformable 0 the u al r h 0f the one another and with a ho human foot, and also being transversely arched to In the drawing furnished h r ith, increase its stiffness. This stiffener is designated io Figure 1 is a perspective iew, partly b k as a whole by the reference letter a. Its forward away and hown in ecti n, f one form f h k end a is intended to terminate at the ball of the cushion and arch support embodying thi i shoe for which it is designed, and its rear end to tion. extend beyond the breast of the heel. The rela- 5 Figure 2 is a perspective i f Steel Shank tionship of its longitudinal and transverse curval5 stiffener in connection ith hi h i cushion tures is such that the concave side of the transmay b us d, verse curvature is directed toward the inner sole Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the When it is placed in a Shoe cushion shown in Figure 1 and the shank stiffener The Cushion b in Figure 1 has a flat upper face shown in Figure 2 assembled with one another in to bear against the Outer Surface of the inner sole 35 the manner in which they are incorporated in and it contains a convex rib c at the opposite side h which substantially conforms to the hollow trans- Figure 4 is a detail section taken transversely verse curvature of the stiffener, as represented by through the forward end of the assembled cushion Figure It is formedwtth flanges d at the and tiflene taken on line 4 of Figure sides which overlap the side edges of the stiffener.

Figures 5 and 6 are views similar to Figure 4 It is longer than the stiffener and wider at both showing variations in the form of the forward ends, and contains at its rear end a pocket 6 abutment between the cushion and the stiffener. adapted to receive the rear ehd a2 of the sthteher Figure 7 is a perspective view of an alternative and at its forward end a pocket 01 recess 1 to reform of shank cushion embodying the invention. eehe the forward al of the Sthteheh The 30 Figure 8 is a fragmentary longitudinal section pocket e has an open mouth facing forwardly but through the Shank part f a Shoe Showing the otherwise is closed. The pocket or recess 1 faces cushion of Figure '7 combined with a sheel shank t0 the real and has a Sufficient Width of opening tiff between the inner and 0U ter soles f a toreceive the end a of the stiffener, which is its shoe widest end. The flexibility and resilience of the Figure 9 is a cross Section of the combined cush cushion permit it to be bent and stretched suffiion and shank stiff shown in Figure 3 taken ciently to receive the opposite ends of the stiffener on line of that figure in its pockets, and cause it thereafter to confine Figure 10 is a Similar cross section of the cush the stiffener so that accidental disassociation of ion Shown in Figure 7 and a Shank stiffener in the cushion and stiffener is practically impossible. 40 their assembled relationship prior to being con- The t end of t .cllshlon 1S taperectnearly fined between the inner and outer soles of a shoe. to thm edge That It Is reduced In thlckness so that it does not cause any appreciable ridge in Flgure 11 1s perspectwe partly broken either the inner or outer sole at its termination away and shown in section of a shank cushion i slightly forward of the ball of the sho 4 like that shown in Figure 1 but having the specific The forward end of the tifiener g have any a design shown In Flghre one of various outlines and the abutting limit of Like reference characters designate the same the pocket j i preferably made t correspond, Darts Wherever they 111 all the fi Thus, Figures 2 and 4 show a concave curvature The Cushion members here Shown are Of fl b e in the forward edge a of the stiffener and a comand more or less compressible and resilient mateplemental convexity g at the inner limit of the rial. Preferably they are made of a good quality pocket. Figure 5 shows the corresponding abutof vulcanized rubber having sufficient resilience to ting edges a and g of the stiffener and cushion give the desired cushioning effect. The properties as being straight; and Figure 11 shows by dotted of the rubber composition may be varied to such lines this formation of the pocket. Figure 6 shows a convexity a in the forward end of the stiffener and a concavity g in the complemental abutment of the cushion.

An optional feature of the cushion is a pad h at the upper side near its forward end; such pad being suitably located and of suitable thickness and contour to serve as a support for the metatarsal arch of the foot. If desired, in order to enhance the flexibility and resilience of this pad, the under side of the cushion may be so molded as to leave a space 2' between the pad and the underlying part of the stiffener a. But this is not essential and the cushion may be made solid throughout from the outer surface of the pad to the stiffener. In the latter case a firmer and less yielding support is given to the metatarsal arch.

The cushion :1 shown in Figures 7, 8, and 10, is adapted to lie beneath the stiffener and between the latter and the outer sole. It has pockets e and f at its ends for the stiffener, which are .simiJ-arrto the pockets e and 1, respectively, except that they open on the upper side instead of the underside of the cushion. The intermediate part of this cushion is shown as being substantially flat and of uniform thickness in cross section. vIn the shaping of the outer sole to give the usual convex formation to the shank part thereof, the nushionis bent and then conforms at its upper side to the curvature of the stiffener.

In the shoe the cushion extends longitudinally to substantially the extent shown in Figure 8, its rear end passing well overthe heel and providing a heel cushion,-while its forward end extends to, .or across, the ball of the shoe. Although Figure .8 represents the form of cushion with reference to Figures '7 and 10 described, it will be understood that-theone shown in Figures 1 and 3 is similarly placed (except that it is between the stiffener and the inner sole) and extends to substantially or nearly .the same points at its opposite ends.

.Shank stiffeners are also used in which the transverse concavity is turned toward the outer sole,-exactly opposite to the formation shown in .Figures 2, 9, land 10. I contemplate making the cushion of either type here shown conformable to such shanks of reversed curvature. In fact, the cushions may be molded with any desired cross sectional shape or width, whether to fit or bridge across the concavity of the transversely arched stiffener or to conform with the convex side-of :such astiffener, or with the flat faces of stiffeners which have no transverse arch.

A feature .common to all embodiments of the invention is .-the pockets at front and rear ends for the corresponding ends of the stiffeners. The term pockets here used comprehends not only the recesses which embrace the opposite edges of the intruding end of the stiffener, but also such recesses as that shown in 1, which are open at both sides and do not embrace the edges of the stiffener. It should be noted that notwithstanding the open sided formation thus shown of the pocket 1, there is an interlock with the adjacent end of the stiffener, caused either by the concave or by the convex formations of Figures 2, 4 and 6, or the substantial width of the straight abutting edges shown in Figure 5. The stiffener is so well anchored by these pockets and by the frictional and compressed gripping of the cushion between the inner and outer soles, that it cannot get out of place in the shoe, and needs no extraneous holding means such as the tacks or prongs commonly used with shank stifieners when there is no cushion. permanent union between the metal shank and the cushion, such as might be effected by molding the cushion around the stiffener, or some part of it, or vulcanizing them together. Instead, a

series of cushions comprising any desired number of different sizes and designs may be assembled when needed, each with any one of several different metallic shank stiifeners.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

This security is obtained without a 1. The combination with a shank stiffener 'having longitudinal and transverse curvature of a cushion adapted to overlie such stiffener, having a rib on one side to fit the concavity of the stiffener and having pockets opening from the same side near the opposite ends and extending respectively toward such ends, adapted to receive the corresponding ends of the stiffener.

2. The-combination with a metallic shoe shank stiffener of a flexible elastic and resilient shoe shank cushion having a length greater than that of the stiffener and having pockets opening from one side near the opposite ends, each pocket ex- .tending toward the respectively nearer end, the

mouth-s .of such pockets being separated from one another by a distance less than the length of the stiffener, and the bottoms of the pockets being a distance apart substantially equal to the length of the stiffener, whereby-the stiffener is insertible into both pockets after stretching of the cushion and is retained by the resilient'contraction of the cushion.

WILLIAM H. NICKERSON. 

